


Solve for i<3u

by fandomsnstuff



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Fluff, M/M, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-21 00:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13728792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomsnstuff/pseuds/fandomsnstuff
Summary: Keith is failing math. Lucky for him, his teacher got the smartest guy in class to tutor him. Unlucky for him, the smartest guy in class is best friends with the guy who proclaims himself as Keith's rival. Even unluckier for him, he develops a huge crush on him, and has no idea what to do about it.Keith just hopes he can get everything to add up without having to subtract Hunk from his life.





	Solve for i<3u

**Author's Note:**

> This is a late valentines day gift for light of my life @quillowl!! She approves of these math gays

Hunk was packing his binder into his backpack at the end of his second period math class as other students filed out of the room when the teacher came up to him. 

 

“Hunk,” he said, “how would you feel about tutoring?” 

 

Hunk zipped up his bag and turned to face him, “I’ve considered it, why?” 

 

“You’re top of the class, and there’s a student in the class who needs some extra help.” 

 

“I mean, sure. Who is it?” Hunk asked. 

 

The teacher pointed over his shoulder, “Keith Kogane.” 

 

Hunk looked around his teacher to where he was pointing. On the opposite side of the classroom, Keith was sitting among the empty desks with his arms crossed, watching them. Hunk smiled at him when they made eye contact and Keith turned his head to look out the window. Hunk’s smile dropped a fraction, but he turned back to his teacher.

 

“Yeah, I can help him out,” he said. 

 

The teacher smiled and walked back to his desk at the front of the room. Hunk swung the strap of his backpack over his shoulder and crossed the room to talk to Keith. 

 

“Hey.” Hunk said, and Keith’s gaze turned away from the window to look up at him. 

 

“Hey,” Keith replied quietly. 

 

“So, we could meet at the public library to study after school. It’s nicer than the school’s library.” 

 

“Okay.” 

 

“Um,” Hunk cleared his throat and pulled out his phone, “here. Put your number in. If something comes up and you can’t make it, just let me know.” 

 

Keith stared at the phone being offered to him for a moment before taking it. He punched his number in, called his own phone, and gave Hunk’s phone back to him. 

 

Hunk smiled at Keith, “I’ll see you after school.” 

 

Keith nodded and Hunk left the room. Once he was walking down hall, he breathed a sigh of relief. “God, that was kind of awkward.” 

 

“Hunk!” 

 

Hearing a familiar voice calling out from down the hall, Hunk looked up to see Lance charging towards him. 

 

“Lance!” He wrapped his best friend up in a hug once he was close enough. 

 

“You took forever to come to lunch, so I came looking for you.” 

 

“Sorry, buddy,” Hunk said, “I had to talk to Mr. Benis about tutoring someone in the class.” 

 

Lance hummed, “good to know your amazing intellect is being recognized, just like you deserve.” 

 

Hunk chuckled, “thanks, buddy.” 

 

“Anyway,” Lance grabbed Hunk’s hand and started pulling him in the direction of the cafeteria, “you would not believe what happened in first period.” 

 

“Oh boy, drama class drama, my favourite.” 

 

“That stupid mullet had the  _ audacity _ to beat me in Hunter and The Hunted,” Lance growled, “it wasn’t fair, anyway. I was supposed to be hunting him, but Ms. Foster switched it around when I swear I was right next to him and he caught me!” 

 

Hunk thought back to when Keith walked into class second period. His hair had been in disarray, and he had been carrying his signature red jacket rather than wearing it, suggesting they’d been doing at lot of moving around in drama class, and he had a small smile on his face, suggesting he’d beaten Lance in something. 

 

“Hunter and The Hunted is the one where you’re blindfolded, right? And the lights are off?” 

 

“The very same!” Lance cried, always one for theatrics. 

 

~~

 

Keith stood outside the public library, staring at the glass doors looming ahead of him. He should just cancel. Tell Hunk he wasn’t feeling well, or find another tutor, or leave the country and change his name to Jacob McKeitherzburg. 

 

Hunk was best friends with Lance McClain. The same Lance McClain from drama class that he’s been competing against and bickering with for the last three years. Keith didn’t even like drama in ninth grade, he took it because he needed an arts credit and didn’t want to take art or music. Ms. Foster, the drama teacher, seemed to like pairing them together. Probably to try and use Lance’s energy to pull Keith out of his shell. 

 

Which worked, to an extent. Pairing them together mostly succeeded in the two of them competing to see who could memorize their lines faster, or write down their stage directions first, or who could come up with the best idea for their performance. 

 

Keith thought he would hate drama when he walked into the theatre in ninth grade. But when course selection came around in February, he found himself staring at the course code for tenth grade drama. He told himself it was just for the games, he’d be done with drama after tenth grade. Then eleventh. When twelfth grade came around, Keith would wholly admit he loved it. The stage, the lights, the people, and he wouldn’t give it up for anything. 

 

Which is why he needed the tutoring. 

 

Despite all their years of drama together, and the close bond between everyone in their senior drama class, Keith still wasn’t entirely sure if Lance actually hated him or not. So having his best friend as his math tutor was pretty hit or miss. 

 

It had only been a month, and Keith was already failing math, and if he didn’t pull up his grade, Ms. Foster threatened to take away his spot on the improv team, and he knew that she wouldn’t hesitate to actually do it. 

 

Keith took a deep breath and held it. Hunk was top of their class, and everyone always gushed about how nice he was, so maybe he’d be professional about tutoring his best friend’s “rival”. 

 

Keith counted to ten and blew his breath out, feeling his nerves calm. 

 

_ Just pretend it’s another show. You’ll be okay.  _

 

He pushed the door open and walked into the library. He walked towards the back, where Hunk said he would be sitting. Keith spotted him at a table next to a large wall of windows. He looked up at Keith and smiled, “hey Keith!” 

 

_ Enter stage left. Stand next to table centre stage.  _

 

Keith hovered at the end of the table, “sorry I’m late.” 

 

Hunk waved a hand, “don’t worry about it. Take a seat.” 

 

_ Sit in chair across from H. Take out binder and pencil case. Take out pencil. Open binder.  _

 

Keith zoned out, formatting all his actions in his mind as stage directions. He was snapped back to reality by Hunk waving a hand in his face, “you still with me, Keith?” 

 

Keith shook his head to clear it, “yeah, sorry, I was just-” 

 

“Off in your own little world?” Hunk finished his sentence for him. 

 

Keith stared at Hunk. “How did you-” 

 

Hunk shrugged, twirling a pencil in his fingers, “Lance does that sometimes, too. Gets nervous and kind of checks out from reality.” 

 

Keith laughed nervously, not offering any real response. 

 

“Anyway, back to math,” Hunk said, “I thought we could start by going through your tests and quizzes to go over anything from earlier units you might not understand. Do you have your last test?” 

 

Keith groaned, flipping through papers in his binder, “unfortunately.” 

 

~~

 

December rolled around, and the senior drama class was in full planning mode for their final performance task. A full 50-minute show written, directed, and performed by their class. They’d picked their directors, and now they were in the planning stage. Everyone was throwing out their own ideas for what kind of show they should do, what kind of a story they wanted to tell. 

 

Everyone had such good ideas, they could really do any of them, but Lance had nothing. So, when his sister had asked him to take his niece to the library for Reading Time, he hoped to find some inspiration. 

 

He left his niece in the kids area to colour in the few minutes before Reading Time started, and wandered through the shelves, scanning the spines of different books. He went through the children’s books, the teen section, he even took a stroll through the old-lady romance novels. 

 

He turned the corner at the end of the mystery novels and spotted Hunk sitting at a table against the wall of windows. Then he saw who was sitting right next to him. 

 

Keith Kogane, Lance’s theatre rival, was sitting on the same side of the table as Hunk, his head in his arms. Lance took a step back to hide on the other side of the self and spy on them. He watched as Hunk looked up from the paper he had been writing on with a red pen. 

 

He put a hand on Keith’s back, “okay, I’ve marked it.” 

 

Keith’s shoulders tensed and didn’t lift his head, “tell me how bad it is. It’s really bad, isn’t it?” 

 

Hunk smiled softly, “you need to look for yourself.” 

 

Keith groaned and sat up, “all right. Show me.” 

 

Hunk held up the page with a bright smile. Keith’s eyes widened and he snatched the paper from Hunk’s hand and stared at it. He looked back up at Hunk, “you’re bullshitting me.” 

 

Hunk shook his head, “no bullshit here. You got a genuine 100% on your practice quiz.” 

 

Lance smiled from his hiding spot. He knew about Ms. Foster’s threat to Keith from October about losing his improv spot if his marks didn’t get better. He was glad Keith could stay on the team with him. 

 

Keith laughed triumphantly and threw his arms around Hunk, “Hunk, you are a miracle worker!” 

 

Hunk wrapped his arms around Keith and squeezed tightly, “you’re the one who did all the hard work and practice.” 

 

“You’re the one who was patient enough with me to answer all my dumb questions.” 

 

“There’s no such thing as a dumb question. You were also the one who knew what questions to ask.” 

 

Keith released himself from the hug, “let’s just agree it was a team effort.” 

 

Hunk laughed, “I’m okay with that.” 

 

Keith stuck the practice quiz into his binder and flipped it shut. Lance noticed the light dusting of pink on Keith’s cheeks, and the fond smile on Hunk’s face as he carefully watched Keith pack up his school things. 

 

Lance quirked an eyebrow, “oh? And what would this be?” 

 

Just then, Keith’s phone vibrated on the table. He checked it and turned to Hunk, “it’s my mark update.” 

 

Hunk leaned into Keith’s side to look at the phone screen, “what are you waiting for? Open it!” 

 

Lance noticed Keith’s blush deepen at the physical contact. 

 

Keith navigated his phone to open the email. He sucked in an anxious breath as he tapped to open it. 

 

There was a moment of silence as the two boys looked at the email, before they cried out together, “seventy-two!” 

 

Hunk wrapped him up in another tight hug as Keith laughed. When Hunk let him go, they sat in silence looking into each other’s eyes for a moment, before they both turned away blushing. 

 

“Anyway,” Keith cleared his throat and stood up, swinging his bag onto his back, “my brother is on his way, so I should go wait for him.” 

 

“I’m walking home, but I can come and wait with you.” Hunk said, shoving his binder into his bag and closing it. 

 

“You’re walking? But it’s freezing!” 

 

Hunk shrugged, “I don’t live that far away.” 

 

_ Lie.  _ Lance thought. 

 

Keith rolled his eyes, “I know that’s not true. My brother can give you a ride home. It’s not out of the way for us.” 

 

_ Another lie.  _ Lance thought. 

 

“Are you sure?” Hunk asked. 

 

“Yes, I’m sure. Come on, grab your stuff.” 

 

Lance watched as the two of them grabbed their coats and left the library. Lance smiled mischievously, a plan already forming in his head to help his pining best friend and his pining rival. 

 

~~

 

Lance sat at his and Hunk’s table in the cafeteria the next day, waiting for him to show up. When he did, Lance smiled brightly as he took the seat across from him. 

 

“Hello my beautiful slice of sunshine best friend.” Lance propped his chin up in his hands. 

 

Hunk looked curiously over at Lance, “okay, what did you do? Do I have to bury a body?” 

 

“No, no, nothing like that. But I do know you’ve been keeping secrets from me.” 

 

Hunk’s hands stilled as they opened his lunch bag. He slowly opened it the rest of the way, “I  have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

 

Lance smirked, “right, so you haven’t been tutoring Keith for the last two months?” 

 

“I didn’t keep it a secret, I just...didn’t tell you about it.”

 

“Same difference.” 

 

Hunk looked at Lance, unimpressed, “okay, so maybe I’ve been tutoring Keith. I know he’s your ‘rival’,” he said using air quotes, “but you don’t hate him. Why would you be mad?” 

 

Lance opened up his own lunch, “oh, I’m not mad about that secret. There’s another secret you’ve been keeping from me and, frankly, I’m offended you didn’t tell me.” 

 

Hunk’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Lance, confused. “What other secret?” 

 

“You’ve got a huge crush on Keith.” Lance took a bite of his sandwich. 

 

Hunk blushed, “what gives you that idea?” 

 

“I saw you in the library with him yesterday and, bro, you are  _ so  _ obvious.” 

 

Hunk’s eyes widened, “am I? Do you think he knows? Oh my god, what if he  _ knows _ ?” 

 

Hunk buried his face in his hands. Lance reached out and patted his head comfortingly, “it’s okay, buddy. I know exactly what you need to do.” 

 

Hunk looked up at Lance through his fingers, “and what’s that?” 

 

“You need to go for it.” 

 

“What?!” Hunk sat up, “no way, I can’t do that.” 

 

“Why not?” 

 

“I don’t even know if he likes me back! No. No going for it. No thank you.” 

 

“I bet you anything he likes you back.” Lance said, taking another bite of his sandwich. 

 

“What makes you think that?” 

 

“Lately, he seems far too eager to go to math class after drama. I don’t think he’s excited to learn the material, considering he was failing before.” 

 

Hunk sighed, “I’ll think about it.”

 

Lance smiled softly at his best friend, “I believe in you, buddy.” 

 

~~

 

The next week, the night before the day where Keith was supposed to have tutoring with Hunk, he got a text. 

 

**Hunk:** Hey Keith, I’m gonna have to cancel on you this week. I’m visiting my grandparents with my moms and we’re leaving tonight, but we can do two sessions next week. Remember to do your homework! 

 

**Keith:** it’s okay, i’ll see you next week! 

 

**Hunk:** If Lance does anything stupid while I’m gone, I give you permission to call him out

 

**Keith:** I do that anyway

 

**Hunk:** ...okay true

 

Keith snorted. 

 

**Keith:** Have fun with your grandparents 

 

**Hunk:** Thanks! See you next week! I look forward to it! 

 

Keith blushed at his phone. 

 

**Keith:** I look forward to it too. 

 

Keith locked his phone and stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom, smiling. Hunk was looking forward to see him, just like how Keith looked forward to seeing Hunk every single week. He sighed like a lovesick fool, and covered his blushing face with his hands. 

 

“I’m a mess,” he mumbled to his empty bedroom. 

 

~~

 

The next day, as Keith was about to head home from school, his phone vibrated. 

 

**Unknown Number:** Hey Keith, it’s Hunk! There was a change of plans and I can actually meet you at the library today! 

 

Keith stared at the strange number for a moment before answering the text. 

 

**Keith:** why is your number different? 

 

**Unknown Number:** My moms surprised me with a new phone! 

 

Keith didn’t see anything wrong with the explanation, and he honestly just really, really wanted to see Hunk, so he didn’t question it. 

 

**Keith:** oh nice 

 

**Unknown Number:** So, the library? 

 

**Keith:** I’m on my way. 

 

**Unknown Number:** Great! See you soon! 

 

Keith put his phone back into his pocket, excited. He all but ran all the way to the library. He walked through the doors and made a beeline for their regular table. He slowed down when he saw who was sitting there. 

 

Lance sat in Hunk’s usual chair, having it turned to face Keith. He sat with his legs crossed, his elbows resting on the arms of the chair, and the tips of his fingers touching. He was smirking and had a glint in his eye. All in all, he looked like some sort of movie villain. 

 

“Keith Kogane,” he said, “funny seeing you here.” 

 

“Where’s Hunk?” Keith looked around, thinking maybe he was sitting at a different table. 

 

“He’s not here.” 

 

Keith looked back at Lance. He assessed the situation and came to a conclusion of what had happened. He glared at Lance, “look, I know you don’t like me, but you can’t control who Hunk hangs around with. It’s not right.” 

 

Lance’s smile dropped, “what? No, no! That’s not what’s going on here at all!” 

 

Keith crossed his arms, “then what is going on? Why isn’t Hunk here?” 

 

“He’s not here because he doesn’t know about this. He’s out of town.” 

 

Keith dropped his arms back to his sides and pulled his phone out, “but he said-” 

 

“That was me.” 

 

He looked up at Lance, “what?” 

 

“I stole your number off Hunk’s phone last week. I’ve been wanting to talk to you, and I figured Hunk being out of town would be the best time to do it.” 

 

“We’re literally together every morning. Why didn’t you just talk to me in drama?” 

 

Lance gave Keith an ‘are-you-serious’ look, “you know just as well as I do that class is full of noses that love to poke into other people’s business.” 

 

Keith shrugged, “fair enough. So,” he sat down across the table from Lance, who turned his chair to face the table again, “what’s this all about?” 

 

“Hunk.” 

 

Keith clenched his hands into fists, “I figured that much. What about him?” 

 

“I know you like him.” 

 

Keith felt his face heat up, “I don’t-” 

 

“You do, Keith.” Lance pointed at him accusingly. “Don’t lie to me.” 

 

Keith pushed Lance’s finger away from his face, “okay, fine. I like him. So what? You got me here to tell me to stay away from him or something?” 

 

Lance threw his hands up, “no! How much of an asshole do you think I am?!” 

 

Keith cleared his throat, “I don’t know, it just never seemed like you liked me very much.” 

 

Lance stared across the table at Keith, “dude, we fight and bicker, and I call you my rival, but you do know that I consider you a friend, right?” 

 

Keith stared at a spot on the table, “I do now.” 

 

Lance waved a hand, “good. Now that that’s out of the way, I think you should go for it.” 

 

Keith’s head whipped up to look at Lance, “what?” 

 

“You should go for it. With Hunk.” 

 

Keith blushed, “you think so? But what if he doesn’t like me back? What if he stops tutoring me because I made things too weird by confessing?” 

 

Lance sighed and mumbled something under his breath. 

 

“What was that?” Keith asked. 

 

Lance cleared his throat, “nothing. Just, Keith, dude, trust me. Go for it.” 

 

Keith’s blush deepened and he looked down at his hands, “I don’t know.” 

 

Lance stood up and stretched, picking up his coat and bag, “just think about it.” 

 

Keith watched his retreating back as Lance left the library. He thought about what he said,  _ ‘I think you should go for it.’  _ and Keith couldn’t help but trust him. He was Hunk’s best friend, after all. He should know what he’s talking about when it comes to Hunk. 

 

Right? 

 

~~

 

A week passed, and Keith walked into the library. He decided to take Lance’s advice, which were words he never thought he’d ever say, and just go for it. But, Keith being Keith, couldn’t find it in himself to just outright confess to Hunk, so he had a plan. 

 

He walked up to their regular table and Hunk smiled warmly at him. Keith could feel his heart hammering against his ribcage. 

 

“Hey, Keith. How are you?” 

 

Keith sat down in his spot next to Hunk, “good. Lance behaved while you were gone, so no need to worry about that. How were your grandparents?” 

 

“Good, I was force-fed lots of my grandma’s food. It felt like I didn’t need to eat for the rest of the year.” 

 

Keith laughed, “is that a good or bad thing?” 

 

Hunk chuckled, “not necessarily bad, but not necessarily good, my grandma’s food is amazing, but like I said, I was force-fed. How’s the show going? For drama.” 

 

Keith hummed as he pulled his binder out, “good. Writing is going really well, a lot faster than last year. We’re probably doing auditions by the end of this week.” 

 

“Good! I’m excited to see it!” Hunk eyed the homework Keith was pulling out, “so do you have any questions from last week’s work?” 

 

“Yeah, a couple.” 

 

They went through their usual routine. Clear up any questions Keith had, go through some extra practice questions in the textbook, do a practice quiz Hunk pulled off the internet, grade it, and go through any mistakes Keith made. 

 

They were nearing the end of their time, so Keith decided to finally carry out the cheesy rom-com plan he came up with. 

 

“Uh, Hunk?” 

 

“Hm?” Hunk paused in shoving his binder into his bag to turn and face Keith. 

 

Keith blushed, clutching a folded piece of lined paper, “I actually had a question about inequalities.” 

 

“Inequalities? We did those like two weeks ago, but sure. If you’ve got a question I can try and answer it.” 

 

He looked away and held the folded page out to Hunk, he took it and unfolded it, reading the question out loud, “solve for i is less than 3u.” Hunk was silent for a moment, “Keith, this question doesn’t make any sense?” 

 

Keith blushed harder, still looking away, “look at it closer. You’re not actually trying to solve for anything.” 

 

“Then what-” 

 

“It’s supposed to tell you something.” 

 

Hunk was silent for another moment, and Keith was starting to regret his decision when he heard a quiet “oh” come from Hunk. 

 

Hunk slid the folded page across the table back over to Keith, “I think I solved it. You should take a look.” 

 

Keith slowly unfolded the paper and looked at it. 

 

In his writing, it said: 

 

_ Solve for  _

_ i<3u _

 

In Hunk’s handwriting, right underneath it, it said: 

 

_ i<3u2 _

 

~~

 

The next morning in drama, Keith was pulling off his shoes when he felt a sudden presence next to him. 

 

“Hi Lance.” He said, uninterested. 

 

“Mullet Kogane. How do you do on this fine morning?” 

 

Keith turned to face Lance, “why are you asking?” 

 

Lance beamed down at him, “I got a very happy call from Hunk last night.” 

 

Keith blushed, “really?” 

 

“i is less than 3u. I didn’t know you were such a nerd, Kogane.” 

 

Keith covered his face with his hands, “God, he told you about that?” 

 

Lance laughed, “he thought it was cute.” 

 

Keith’s face heated up even more, “he did?” 

 

Lance clapped Keith on the shoulder, “you did good, Kogane. For your future reference, his favourite flowers are daisies.” 

 

Keith stared at a spot on the carpet, “daisies.” 

 

“And he doesn’t care about super fancy dates. He appreciates them, but he really only cares about spending time with you, so don’t stress about planning the perfect date.” 

 

“Okay.” 

 

“And if he cooks for you, look to the sky and thank the Lord because Hunk’s cooking is heavenly.” 

 

“Got it.” 

 

“Oh, and one more thing.” 

 

Keith looked up only to find Lance staring him down angrily. Keith took a startled step back at the sudden change in mood. 

 

Lance advanced on him, “not that I think you’ll be shitty to him, but if you are, know that I will find you, and I will destroy you.” 

 

Keith swallowed, “got’cha.” 

 

Lance’s sudden anger faded and was replaced with a smile, “good!” He turned and bounded to the centre of the room where the other students were congregating to start class. 

 

~~

 

Another month passed, and it was January. 

 

Hunk was sitting in the second row of the three hundred chairs that were set up in the theatre, waiting excitedly for the twelfth grade drama performance to start. 

 

Both Lance and Keith refused to give him even a basic rundown of the plot, claiming that they wanted it to be a surprise. The only thing he knew was that Keith’s character was named Brody, Lance’s character was named Chuck, and they were jocks and best friends. Based on how excited the two of them were about their characters, Hunk guessed that their characters were secretly gay. 

 

The lights went down and the first actors came on stage. Hunk watched happily as Keith and Lance did what they loved. 

 

A week passed, and Hunk was in the public library studying for exams. He jumped when there was a loud bang. He looked up to find that Lance and Keith had shown up and slammed their hands down on his table. 

 

“Hey guys,” Hunk said, “what’s up?” 

 

They were both grinning widely, their hair was ruffled and coats were done up halfway, as if they’d left their houses in a rush and ran all the way there. 

 

“We got in!” They shouted together. 

 

Hunk’s eyes widened, “both of you?” They nodded excitedly and Hunk stood from the table and wrapped both them up in a crushing hug, “congratulations!” 

 

“It’s convenient for you, your boyfriend and best friend going to the same theatre school.” Lance said. 

 

Hunk chuckled, “it makes staying in touch easier.” He gasped, “you two should room together!” 

 

“Ugh, I don’t think I’d be able to handle living with him,” Keith said. 

 

“Excuse you,” Lance retorted, “I’m a delight to live with! I bet you’d be the nightmare.” 

 

“You wanna bet? I’d totally be a better roommate than you.” 

 

“No way!” 

 

Hunk cleared his throat, “maybe you should room together and find out who’s the better roommate.” 

 

Lance locked eyes with Keith, “bet I can get back to my house and finish my residence application before you.” 

 

Keith narrowed his eyes, “you are so on.” 

 

They both climbed out of Hunk’s hug and took off, leaving the library in a rush. Hunk laughed, shaking his head. He sat back down at his table and twirled a pencil in his fingers, smiling absently, distracted from his studying. He stared at where Keith and Lance had run off, imagining them tripping over each other to beat the other in their petty race. 

 

Hunk never thought that tutoring would change his life, but man, he’s so happy it did.


End file.
